South County YMCA's new aquatics director has made Olympians

Bruce Patmos is the new director of the aquatics department at South Sarasota County's YMCAs. Patmos hopes to bring more swimmers to Venice by starting new programs and bringing in Olympians, two of which he coached in California.

Published: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 11:06 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 11:06 p.m.

VENICE - After months of uncertainty and swimmer defections, parents and students are expressing hope in a new YMCA aquatics director known for producing Olympians.

Bruce Patmos became director of South Sarasota County’s YMCA aquatic programs in late August, after an almost two-month gap in leadership.

Although he is new to the Venice area, Patmos has an impressive résumé that includes about 30 years of coaching, two Olympic swimmers and creating a swim team in Los Angeles.

He said he still loves teaching swimmers of all skill levels.

“It’s my classroom,” he said. “You do your homework in the pool, and the meets are like the tests.”

But first, he needs to get more students in his class.

For more than six weeks this summer, the South Sarasota County YMCAs were without an aquatics director.

In the absence of a department head, programs took a hit.

Enrollment dropped off among all age groups.

Lifeguards in Englewood stopped showing up for their shifts.

Patmos said many swimmers joined the Sarasota Sharks, even though it meant a much longer drive for their parents.

“If I were a parent, I would have wanted my kid up there, too,” Patmos said. “(The South County program) was in shambles. But a lot of those swimmers are starting to come back.”

Heather Koenig said her 9-year-old daughter joined the Venice team in the summer of 2012.

Although Koenig said neither she nor her daughter had any serious complaints with how the old program was run, she said she noticed big changes when Patmos took over the program.

“We didn’t used to see a lot of feedback,” Koenig said. “But now we’ve seen a lot of improvement. It’s nice to watch his demeanor with the kids, and how intently they listen to his advice.”

Patmos’ skill in communicating with children could be a reflection of his almost 30 years coaching and building swim teams.

In 1988, he started his first swim team from scratch in Los Angeles County, Calif. The program started with to more than 400.about 90 swimmers, but those numbers eventually swelled.

It was in California where Patmos coached his two Olympians — Anthony Ervin and Gabe Woodward.

He said he coached Ervin since he was about 8 and could tell the young man had star potential.

“You could just tell from the way he was in the water,” Patmos said. “He would go so far off of one stroke that we all thought he was cheating by pulling the lane lines.”

Patmos said he is bringing Ervin down to Venice so the Olympian can give some pointers.

One of those enthusiastic competition swimmers is 16-year-old Amber Stich.

The Pine View sophomore said she transferred from the Sarasota YMCA’s competitive team down to Venice so she could train with Patmos.

“He’s the best coach I’ve ever had,” Amber said. “He treats us with respect, and you know he knows what he’s doing.”

Patmos hopes to lure more swimmers like Amber to Venice.

This year, about 110 children and teenagers have signed up for the competitive swim team.

“(Enrollment) numbers are higher than they’ve been in a long time,” Patmos said. “But they’re still too low.”

He wants about 200 students to enroll in next year’s programs.

One of the best ways to attract talent, Patmos said, is by creating exclusive programs and partnerships.

He created an all-ages Masters swim class at the Venice branch and doubled the coaching staff at the YMCA’s Englewood branch. He is in talks with several college swim teams to bring their programs to Venice to practice during the winter months.

He wants to start a competition dive team.

But one of the main groups he is looking for is younger children he hopes to mold into champions.

He said those typically younger than 12 or 13 are much more eager to try new techniques than older kids, who often fear physical injury or exhaustion.

“The younger ones are fearless,” Patmos said. “They’re the most fun to work with — if they listen.”

<p><em>VENICE</em> - After months of uncertainty and swimmer defections, parents and students are expressing hope in a new YMCA aquatics director known for producing Olympians.</p><p>Bruce Patmos became director of South Sarasota County's YMCA aquatic programs in late August, after an almost two-month gap in leadership.</p><p>Although he is new to the Venice area, Patmos has an impressive résumé that includes about 30 years of coaching, two Olympic swimmers and creating a swim team in Los Angeles.</p><p>He said he still loves teaching swimmers of all skill levels.</p><p>“It's my classroom,” he said. “You do your homework in the pool, and the meets are like the tests.”</p><p>But first, he needs to get more students in his class.</p><p>For more than six weeks this summer, the South Sarasota County YMCAs were without an aquatics director.</p><p>In the absence of a department head, programs took a hit.</p><p>Enrollment dropped off among all age groups.</p><p>Lifeguards in Englewood stopped showing up for their shifts.</p><p>Patmos said many swimmers joined the Sarasota Sharks, even though it meant a much longer drive for their parents.</p><p>“If I were a parent, I would have wanted my kid up there, too,” Patmos said. “(The South County program) was in shambles. But a lot of those swimmers are starting to come back.”</p><p>Heather Koenig said her 9-year-old daughter joined the Venice team in the summer of 2012.</p><p>Although Koenig said neither she nor her daughter had any serious complaints with how the old program was run, she said she noticed big changes when Patmos took over the program.</p><p>“We didn't used to see a lot of feedback,” Koenig said. “But now we've seen a lot of improvement. It's nice to watch his demeanor with the kids, and how intently they listen to his advice.”</p><p>Patmos' skill in communicating with children could be a reflection of his almost 30 years coaching and building swim teams.</p><p>In 1988, he started his first swim team from scratch in Los Angeles County, Calif. The program started with to more than 400.about 90 swimmers, but those numbers eventually swelled. </p><p>It was in California where Patmos coached his two Olympians — Anthony Ervin and Gabe Woodward.</p><p>He said he coached Ervin since he was about 8 and could tell the young man had star potential.</p><p>“You could just tell from the way he was in the water,” Patmos said. “He would go so far off of one stroke that we all thought he was cheating by pulling the lane lines.”</p><p>Patmos said he is bringing Ervin down to Venice so the Olympian can give some pointers.</p><p>One of those enthusiastic competition swimmers is 16-year-old Amber Stich.</p><p>The Pine View sophomore said she transferred from the Sarasota YMCA's competitive team down to Venice so she could train with Patmos.</p><p>“He's the best coach I've ever had,” Amber said. “He treats us with respect, and you know he knows what he's doing.”</p><p>Patmos hopes to lure more swimmers like Amber to Venice.</p><p>This year, about 110 children and teenagers have signed up for the competitive swim team.</p><p>“(Enrollment) numbers are higher than they've been in a long time,” Patmos said. “But they're still too low.”</p><p>He wants about 200 students to enroll in next year's programs.</p><p>One of the best ways to attract talent, Patmos said, is by creating exclusive programs and partnerships.</p><p>He created an all-ages Masters swim class at the Venice branch and doubled the coaching staff at the YMCA's Englewood branch. He is in talks with several college swim teams to bring their programs to Venice to practice during the winter months.</p><p>He wants to start a competition dive team.</p><p>But one of the main groups he is looking for is younger children he hopes to mold into champions.</p><p>He said those typically younger than 12 or 13 are much more eager to try new techniques than older kids, who often fear physical injury or exhaustion.</p><p>“The younger ones are fearless,” Patmos said. “They're the most fun to work with — if they listen.”</p>